Amazon announced a new fitness band and subscription platform with some innovative new features that also bring significant privacy concerns.
The new tracker, called ‘Halo,’ is little more than a wristband with a variety of sensors attached. It doesn’t have a screen like an Apple Watch or Fitbit, which indicates Amazon has a different aim here than traditional fitness trackers. Halo offers several of the same basic tracker features seen elsewhere, such as cardio and sleep tracking. There are also ‘labs’ developed by partners that act like small challenges designed to improve health habits like meditation, sleep or starting basic exercise routines.
However, the standout additions here are 3D body fat scans and voice tone tracking. Body scans use your smartphone’s camera to take four pictures of you — one from the front, one from the back and one from each side. The Halo app uploads these scans to Amazon’s servers, where the company combines them into a 3D scan of your body. Amazon says it sends the scan back to your phone and deletes the data of its servers.
Once you have the scan, Halo uses machine learning to analyze the scan and calculate your body fat percentage. Amazon argues body fat percentage is a more reliable indicator of health than either weight or body mass index (BMI). It also claims its machine learning system measures body fat more accurately than smart scales that use bioelectrical impedance to measure body fat. Halo users can adjust a slider in the app to see what their body looks like with more or less body fat.
Halo is available for anyone 13 years of age and up, but the body scan feature is restricted to people 18 or older. The body scan feature sounds like a privacy nightmare, but Amazon promises it’s being careful with user data. The company plans to post a document detailing every type of data it collects, where it’s stored and how to delete it.
Aside from the obvious privacy alarm bells, The Vergepoints out that, despite the educational and motivational goal of body scans, it could be dangerous for people with body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia or other self-image issues. When asked about those issues, Amazon told The Verge that Halo recommends doing scans once every two weeks. It also prevents the slider from showing dangerously low levels of body fat and includes information about how low body fat can increase risk for certain health problems.
Tone tracking and privacy
Amazon’s Halo band includes a built-in microphone, but it’s not for voice commands. In fact, Alexa isn’t on the device at all. Instead, the microphone listens to your voice throughout the day and generates a report about your emotional state. For users who don’t opt-in, the microphone does nothing.
The system works passively and intermittently listens to your voice. When it listens, it sends audio snippets to your phone where the Halo app analyzes them, looking at pitch, intensity, rhythm and tempo. It compares this against a baseline you create by reading sample text, categorizes ‘notable moments’ and organizes them for users to review. Amazon stressed that voice snippets never get uploaded to servers and are never heard by humans.
Amazon also notes that it modelled the feature on American English, so results may be less accurate for people with an accent.
It’s worth noting that both the tone tracking and body scan features are opt-in and, at least so far, Amazon has been transparent about where the data goes. Further, Amazon made it easy to turn off the features and delete the data. Some other key points about Halo include that the profile is distinct from your Amazon account. It will need individual activation with a second factor like a text message, which prevents others who share your Prime account from getting into it.
Amazon is also limiting how Halo shares data. You can’t integrate it without fitness apps like Apple Health at launch, but data can be shared with third-parties, including some partners like WW (formerly Weight Watchers).
Typical tracking with a twist
Finally, Halo handles the typical tracking people have come to expect from fitness trackers, but handled differently. For example, it tracks cardio fitness, but on a weekly basis instead of daily like most apps. It also counts steps, but users see an abstract fitness score instead of basic step counter.
Halo also has a heart monitor, but it only uses this to distinguish between intense, moderate and light activity. It combines that data to ensure wearers meet a weekly activity target. Instead of hourly stand or step prompts seen on Apple Watch or Fitbit devices, Halo measures how long users remain sedentary and deducts from the weekly activity score if people don’t do much for more than eight hours (excluding sleep). Halo doesn’t proactively alert users to heart conditions nor does it do fall detection.
All in all, Amazon’s Halo band seems like an interesting device. It offers less intrusive hardware than competitors, but also less features. Plus, some may consider the band’s most innovative features to be disturbing. The other thing to consider will be availability. MobileSyrup reached out to Amazon Canada for details about a Canadian release. At the time of writing, Halo wasn’t available on Amazon.ca.
Halo costs $99.99 USD (about $131.45 CAD) but has limited time early access pricing of $64.99 USD ($85.44 CAD). Plus, to get some of Halo’s best features, you’ll need a monthly subscription that costs about $5.25 CAD (it’s not included in Amazon Prime). Considering you can get similar features from competitors without the monthly fee, as well as a more feature-rich tracker, it’s hard to imagine Halo taking off.
Fitbit’s new Inspire 2 tracker, for example, costs $129.95 and includes 12 months free Fitbit Premium, a display and near feature parity with Halo, excluding Amazon’s body scan and tone tracking tech. To me, that seems like a much better purchase. Still, it’s possible Halo will find a niche crowd that appreciates what it does, and Amazon’s new features could push competitors to adopt similar ideas.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.
The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.
There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.
Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.
“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.
“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.
But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.
Copenhagen, 22.10.2024 – COBOD International, the global leader in 3D construction printing technology, proudly introduces the BOD3 3D Construction Printer for 3D printing of real concrete. Equipped with an extendable ground-based track system, the BOD3 advances the construction process by eliminating printer downtime between multiple buildings on the same site, setting anew benchmark for productivity and efficiency. The BOD3 is the most advanced solution for high-volume low-rise construction and a very effective alternative to conventional construction methods.
The heart and key feature of the new BOD3 3D printer is the advanced extendable ground-based track system. This system enables limitless extension along the Y-axes (length), expanding the printable area to cover 2 or 3 buildings, and reducing setup time to a single installation for multi-building projects. It’s a game-changer, allowing continuous, uninterrupted printing across large sites, increasing efficiency for high volume and mass production at an unmatchable scale.
Render of COBOD BOD3 3D Construction Printer.
The BOD3, COBOD’s third printer model, is the outstanding achievement of years of dedicated research, development, and close collaboration with customers. It is a vital advancement in automated construction technology, directly addressing the urgent global demand for faster, smarter, more efficient and sustainable building solutions. Like every COBOD 3D printer, the BOD3’s modular design offers customization, allowing it to easily adapt to any customer’s size wishes in addition to complying with the various sizes of construction sites anywhere in the world.
The BOD3 follows COBOD’s vision to build smarter through automation. Its operational stand combines the control and monitoring of both the 3D printer and supplementary equipment in one user-friendly system. The Advanced Hose Management System (AHMS) transports 3D printable material from the materials delivery system to the printhead via hoses secured within E-chains, minimizing physical labor and optimizing material flow. With the addition of the dual dosing system for additives, operators can better control the concrete and adapt it to onsite environmental conditions. By introducing additives directly at the printhead, the system reduces drying time between layers, speeding up the overall construction process. Designed for easy operation and precision, the BOD3 can be operated by a small, trained, and certified team, reducing the costs of projects.
Incorporating the innovative Universal X-Carriage, the BOD3 is ready for future COBOD advancements and technologies, like the introduction of additional tools for the printer aimed at insulating, painting, sanding, etc. This ensures long-term versatility and performance that will keep the BOD3 at the forefront of the industry for years to come.
Universal X-Carriage with Printhead.
Already deployed to the global market, the BOD3 is currently active in Indonesia, by Modula Tiga Dimensi, Angola, by Power2Build, andBahrain, by Ab’aad 3D. The customers report faster project execution with near-zero downtime between individual buildings on the same site. The projects showcase the BOD3’s ability to speed up construction and print with real concrete, with 99% locally sourced materials and 1% of innovative D.fab, a co-developed solution by COBOD and Cemex to make concrete 3D printable.
Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder and General Manager of COBOD, commented on the BOD3: “The global housing crisis demands a more efficient construction solution that is faster, more efficient, and scalable. The BOD3 is our answer to this challenge. Drawing on years of research and expertise, we’ve designed the BOD3 with innovative features, making it our most cost-effective and efficient model yet for multiple low-rise buildings. Its design supports high-volume, linear production of houses, enabling mass production without compromising quality. The fact that six units have already been sold before its official launch speaks volumes about the BOD3’s market demand and the trust our customers place in our technology.”
Michael Holm, Chief Innovation Officer at COBOD, states, “The advanced ground-based track system was developed as a response to our customers’ needs to increase efficiency and productivity. Now the 3D construction printer can be easily extended, and multiple consecutive structures can be printed with minimal repositioning and zero downtime between projects, making 3D construction printing more efficient than ever before.”
The BOD3 is now available for purchase worldwide; for more information, please visit our website, www.cobod.com, or contact us at info@cobod.com.
COBOD stands as the global leader in supplying 3D printers for the construction sector, with over 80 printers distributed across North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Driven by a mission to revolutionize construction through multifunctional robots based on 3D printing, COBOD envisions automating half of the construction processes to achieve faster, cost-effective, sustainable results with enhanced design versatility.
From residential, commercial, and public buildings, COBOD’s 3D printers have been instrumental in erecting 1- to 3-story structures across all six inhabited continents. The innovative technology also extends to fabricate large-scale data centers, wind turbine towers, tanks, and more.
Embracing an open-source material approach, COBOD collaborates with global partners, including customers, academia, and suppliers. The company, backed by prominent shareholders such as General Electric, CEMEX, Holcim, and PERI, operates from its main office in Copenhagen, Denmark, and regional competence centers in Miami, Florida, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. COBOD’s dynamic team comprises over 100 professionals from 25 diverse nationalities.
ABOUT MODULA TIGA DIMENSI
PT Modula Tiga Dimensi is a joint venture between Bakrie & Brothers (BNBR) and COBOD. BNBR focuses on offering and providing solutions for housing backlog problems currently encountered by the country.
Teaming up with COBOD International, the company is now set to adopt the latest 3D printing construction technology and is ready to offer the Indonesian market a new and better solution to housing obstructions.
ABOUT POWER2BUILD
Reshaping the construction sector and adapting it to urgent human needs.
Power2Build is a technology company for the construction industry, prepared to establish partnerships with private, public, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so that they can make the transition to Build 4.0 through 3DCP.
We offer our clients value-added services and high-quality projects, always with a multidisciplinary approach that brings together the necessary experience to deal with complex issues.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.
Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.
Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?
A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.
Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?
A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.
The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.
Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.
Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?
A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.
Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?
A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.
Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?
A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.
Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.
The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.
Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?
A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.
